


You Warmed My Heart

by alienat



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-09
Updated: 2012-04-09
Packaged: 2017-11-03 08:50:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/379525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alienat/pseuds/alienat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been ten years since Jensen bought a homeless kid a hot chocolate. Some things change, some things don’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Warmed My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this started with a little [comment fic](http://j2-a-day.livejournal.com/359294.html?thread=983422#t983422) for a [prompt](http://j2-a-day.livejournal.com/359294.html?thread=981118#t981118) [](http://jesseofthenorth.livejournal.com/profile)[**jesseofthenorth**](http://jesseofthenorth.livejournal.com/) left at [](http://j2-a-day.livejournal.com/profile)[**j2_a_day**](http://j2-a-day.livejournal.com/)’s [Christmas/New Year’s comment fic meme](http://ally-fics.livejournal.com/39395.html). A lot of people asked for a sequel.

 

Jensen’s in his office, buried beneath a butt-load of case files, when Danneel pushes her head through the door to say ‘Good night’. 

He waves at her without looking up and she sighs. “Go home, Jensen. I’m sure there’re better things you could be doing than sitting in the office at 7pm in the evening.” Jensen grumbles something under his breath. “Fine. Then at least take a look at those applications and resumes, okay?”

Jensen nods, more out of habit than the fact that he’s listened to Danneel, but it seems to get her off his case because she closes the door and leaves Jensen to his files. 

It’s an hour later and his eyes are dry and burning from staring at the files for too long. He leans back and lets out a deep breath. He might just have an idea to turn the case around to their advantage… finally. Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, he remembers what Danneel said about the applications. Well, he could use someone new for his team and if the applications are on his table, the high and mighty have already approved a new employee.

He reaches for the four folders that Danneel had put on his desk a week ago and flips through them. Nothing stands out really, other than one resume and the name on it: Jared Padalecki.

Jared. For a second, Jensen wonders if this could be _his_ Jared and then he scolds himself for even thinking ‘his’. Jared was just a kid who he bought a hot chocolate for and gave his gloves to, and all of that happened over nine-and-a-half years ago. Jensen should really be over it by now. But somehow, even after more than nine years, the name ‘Jared’ makes Jensen stop and wonder every time. 

He really had thought he’d keep tabs on the boy; ask Sophia if the kid had really shown up, and if yes, how he was doing. But then his career took a turn for the better. Jensen’s been working sixty hours a week for the last nine-and-a-half years at the most renowned law firm, Johansson, Morgan & Beaver, in New York City. 

It’s been years since he’d talked to Sophia, except for the occasional call or text message on birthdays and Christmas, and honestly he always forgot to ask her about the kid he’d helped back then. 

He lets his eyes flicker over the resume and is impressed when he sees that Jared Padalecki graduated from Harvard at the top of his class. The resume also mentions an internship at one of the most well-known law firms in Boston. The recommendation letters Padalecki added to the application sing his high praises and Jensen’s really impressed. 

The boy is definitely someone Jensen could use on his team. He makes a note for Danneel to arrange an interview for later in the week. 

~*~*~

The only thing he hates about his job is that he has to be at the office at 8am. Getting up early has never been his thing and when he stumbles into the office on Friday morning, the day had already started to piss him off. His alarm clock broke during the night, which had already made Jensen about an hour late, but then the line at his favorite Starbucks was so long that it added another half an hour to his delay. 

Danneel glares at him when he shuffles into his office, with his face almost completely buried in his venti caramel latte macchiato. 

“Jensen, where the hell have you been? Johansson’s already asked about you and Mr. Padalecki has been waiting in Conference Room One for almost an hour.”

Jensen groans. “Tell Paul I’ll call him back when I’ve finished the interview with Mr. Padalecki.” 

He puts his things down in his office and takes one last mournful sip of his delicious coffee, before making his way to Conference Room One. With an apology on his lips, he pushes the door open, but the words get stuck in his throat. 

The guy that jumps up from his chair is a giant, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. His dark brown hair is tucked behind his ears and he’s smiling. Damn, there are dimples. Jensen feels his dick stir in his pants. 

Holy shit, he really needs to get laid, preferably by this hunk of a man. He shakes his head to clear it and forces on a smile. 

“Hi, sorry I’m late. My alarm clock broke and then Starbucks was hell.”

Padalecki’s grin widens. “Still a Starbucks kinda guy, I see.” Jensen frowns. Did they meet before? “Aw, shit. You don’t remember me, do you?” The guy holds his hand out and Jensen shakes it. “I’m Jared. About ten years ago you bought me hot chocolate and gave me your gloves.”

Jensen gapes. “No way.” He lets his eyes roam over Jared’s well-filled out body and tries to connect what he sees to his memory. “You were scrawny.”

Jared laughs. “Yeah, I had a growth spurt when I was eighteen; shot right up, so I started to go to the gym to gain some muscle.”

Jensen swallows. Yeah, he can see the muscles. “So, uhm, law, huh?”

“Yeah. When I got to Sophia, she told me that you’re a lawyer and I thought if all lawyers are as nice as you are, it’s the right thing for me.” Jared’s still grinning at him and Jensen feels his stomach drop a little. 

“Well, hope you still see it that way when you’ve worked for me for a week,” he says teasingly, but also with a hint of seriousness. Jared needs to be prepared to work hard, Jensen doesn’t tolerate slacking off. 

The interview goes well and Jensen’s impressed with Jared’s intelligence and wit. He wonders how this kid ended up on the streets all those years ago, when he clearly is highly educated. 

~*~*~

Jared’s first day starts with Jensen dropping about a million case files on his desk. 

“Look through them and tell me what you think tomorrow,” he says and Jared gives him a serious nod. “9am, my office and bring coffee.”

He leaves Jared to it, hurrying to get some work done himself. Jared’s desk is just outside his office and Jensen catches himself looking out of his window more often than he would like. Jared’s bent over the desk, reading the files intently and making notes here and there. It brings a smile to Jensen’s face and he goes back to his own files. 

The next morning, Jared strolls into his office with two Starbucks cups and a broad grin. Jensen gives a short grin back and takes the cup Jared hands him. Taking a sip, he spews it right back out. 

“What the hell? That’s not my caramel latte.”

The grin falls from Jared’s face and Jensen curses himself for making Jared look like his puppy just died. 

“Sorry, it’s hot chocolate. I thought it would be nice, y’know considering…” Jared shrugs. “Never mind, it was stupid. I can go and get you your caramel latte.”

Now Jensen feels like even more of an ass. “No, Jared. It was nice. I just didn’t expect it. It’s okay, really. C’mon, sit down and tell me what you think about these cases.”

Jared sits down, but the smile doesn’t make its way back to his face and Jensen really kinda misses it. They talk business for a while before Jensen lets Jared get back to his daily tasks. He still feels like an ass for spitting out the hot chocolate Jared brought him, because it really was nice gesture and maybe even a little adorable. 

~*~*~

There’s a knock at the door and Jensen looks up to see Jared standing there. “Hey, Jared. Can I help you?”

“Well, I wanted to go through the files of the Lombardi case, but it’s really getting late and I’m kinda hungry, so I thought you might want to order some Chinese.” He looks a little nervous and it makes Jensen smile. 

“Yeah sure. Whatever you’re having is fine with me.”

Jared grins. “Okay.”

Jensen goes back to his files and the three-hundred emails in his inbox, until there’s another knock at the door. He looks up and sees Jared standing there with their dinner in his hands. He waves him inside. 

“Just put it on the coffee table,” he says, getting up from his chair and stretching his back. “Damn, my back’s killing me.”

“You should maybe go to the gym, would help your back with all the hours you sit there bent over your desk,” Jared says and Jensen shrugs. 

“Don’t really have time for the gym, y’know.”

Jared frowns. “Do you ever do anything besides work?”

“What do you mean?” Jensen asks confused, taking the box with the Kung Pao from Jared. 

“I mean, friends, going out, having fun. Something other than work.”

Jensen shrugs his shoulders. “Not really. I love my job and if I wanna make senior partner by forty, I need to set my priorities straight.”

Jared puts some of his fried noodles into his mouth and looks at Jensen, seemingly contemplatively. “I just don’t get it,” he says after a while. “I mean, there has to be something else in your life. Boyfriend, girlfriend, family?”

Jensen sighs. “Jared, I’ve been working sixty, sometimes seventy, hours a week for the past nine-and-a-half years. You think someone would tolerate that?” he asks with a wink. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I really do love my work.”

“It’s just… it seems kinda lonely,” Jared says and Jensen really doesn’t know what to say to that. 

~*~*~

The weeks go by faster than Jensen can count and soon it’s mid October and the first snow is falling. It’s early, but it’s not like the weather’s cared about seasons in the last few years. 

He and Jared get into some kind of routine, with Jared bringing him hot chocolate in the morning and Jensen asking Jared to stay and have dinner with him at the office more often than not. It’s nice really, feels like Jensen finally has a friend again. It’s not that he doesn’t have friends, just that he hasn’t really talked to them in ages. So, he enjoys the little private time he has with Jared. 

Danneel asks him if he’s sick when she steals a sip from his hot chocolate one day and he and Jared break into a laughing fit, which only makes Danneel declare them insane. 

It’s a couple of days before Halloween when Jared storms into his office and slams a folder on his desk. 

“Tell me you didn’t know about this.”

Jensen frowns. “What?”

“The McAllister case, tell me you didn’t know that Mike and Tom were working on it.” Jared looks furious and Jensen really doesn’t know why. 

“Well, of course I know that they’re working on it. I gave it to them. What’s going on, Jared?”

“Do you know what this will mean?” Jared asks, his voice tense. 

Jensen pinches his nose. “What are you talking about, Jared? You’re not making any sense.”

“They’ll tear down the whole block, Jensen. And for what? A mall? This is a home to people. I can’t believe you approve of this.” Jared huffs out a breath. “That’s not the guy I met ten years ago.” He looks disappointed and Jensen’s heart clenches, but he’s the boss and he just can’t let Jared talk to him like that. 

“Well, maybe I’m not that guy anymore, Jared. You ever thought about that? Now, go back to work. I need the Clearman file back by tomorrow morning.”

Jared shakes his head. “I guess I really did get fooled.” 

He walks out and Jensen sighs. If he’s honest, he hadn’t really looked at the McAllister case when Paul Johansson gave him the case file. He just handed it to Mike and Tom and told them to prepare the case for him. Now, he flips open the file. McAllister Corp. wants to buy a mall in Brooklyn, just that the property is currently home to about eighty people. The owner doesn’t want to sell the four houses, but Jensen knows that if McAllister will offer more money, the owner will sell. Because in the end it’s all about the money. 

Jensen doesn’t really get why this upsets Jared so much, because he can’t see anything happening here that’s illegal. Deals like this happen daily all over the world. He sighs, getting up from his chair and walking over to where Jared’s sitting, skimming through a file with enough force to tear paper. 

“Jared…”

“What?”

“Will you look at me, please?” Jensen asks and when Jared looks up he can see that the younger man is still very upset about the whole thing. “You gonna tell me what this is all about?” He waves the file in front of Jared’s face and Jared sighs. 

“Fine. You up for a ride?” 

Jensen considers saying ‘no’, because there’s a butt-load of work waiting for him, but Jared’s looking hopefully at him and Jensen can’t bring himself to say ‘no’ right now. That’s why he nods and grabs his coat, before following Jared out of the office. 

They drive in silence and it’s only when they’re crossing Brooklyn Bridge that Jared starts talking. 

“Y’know, I realized I was gay when I was fifteen and thought that our PE teacher Mr. Connelly was way hotter than any of the girls at school.” Jensen raises his eyebrows, he didn’t know that Jared’s gay. Not that it means anything. “I was a stupid, hormonal teenager and somehow after I told my parents and they weren’t as accepting as I wanted them to be, I told myself that they were better off without me. I was sixteen when I ran away and I was on the streets for almost a month before you found me. Sophia made me call my parents and we talked it out. Now we’re really close again.”

“That’s great,” Jensen says, not really knowing what else there is to say. 

Jared lets out a deep breath. “The block McAllister wants to tear down? I grew up there. My parents are still living there.”

Jensen sighs. “I’m sorry, Jared.”

“That’s what I meant when I said that this is a home for somebody. It is my home, Jensen, and I don’t wanna see a mall there instead.”

Jensen doesn’t really know what to say to that, so he shrugs awkwardly. 

Jared pulls the car over to the shoulder of the road. “We’re here.”

They get out and Jared leads him to one of the entrances and up to the second floor where he knocks on a door. A middle-aged woman opens it and breaks out into a bright smile when she sees Jared. 

“JT, what are you doing here?”

“Hey Mom. I just wanted to say ‘hi’. This is Jensen.”

Jared’s mom’s eyes flicker to him and before Jensen knows what’s happening to him, Mrs. Padalecki pulls him into a hug. 

“Thank you so much.”

Jensen is genuinely confused and asks, “For what?”

“Finding our boy and bringing him back to us. I’m not sure he’d have come back if it hadn’t been for you. I’ve wanted to thank you for a long time now.”

“Well, you’re welcome.”

Mrs. Padalecki shoos them into the apartment. It’s nothing special, just big enough for three people to live. But it feels cozy and nice and lived-in. It’s nothing like the sterile apartment that waits for Jensen at the end of the day. This is a home, filled with memories, good and bad. Now, he knows what Jared means when he says ‘it’s a home’. 

They don’t stay long, but Mrs. Padalecki makes him promise that he’ll come back for dinner one day soon. After the visit with Jared’s mom, Jared leads him out the back door and into the courtyard. There’s a little garden and a huge apple tree, with a swing attached to one of its thick branches. 

“This is where Uncle Artie grows his lettuce in the summer and the apples are delicious.”

Everything is covered in a light layer of snow, but Jensen can see that it’s beautiful and he says so. Jared smiles at him. 

“It really is.” Jared lets out a deep breath. “You know why I can’t really work for you anymore, don’t you?”

Jensen’s eyebrows shoot up. “What? But…”

“Jensen,” Jared says softly. “No matter how much I like working with you and like you, this is my home and I’ll do everything to keep it. I’m sorry, but I quit.”

~*~*~

It’s been a couple of weeks since Jared quit and Jensen can’t seem to concentrate on anything but the fact that Jared’s desk is empty. He knows that McAllister raised his offer and that soon it’ll be too much money to say ‘no’ to. 

It’s Thursday afternoon and nowhere near his normal time to call it quits for the day, when he gets up and grabs his coat. 

“Where’re you going?” Danneel asks surprised, when he walks by her desk. 

“Out. I’ll be back tomorrow. Just tell everybody I’ll call them back.”

“But…” Danneel stutters. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He walks out of the office a few minutes later and smiles when he realizes that it’s snowing lightly. Laying his head back he feels the snowflakes falling on his face. They tickle and he laughs. It’s been a while since he stood there, just because. 

Jensen could take the subway, but he decides to walk. It’ll give him time to think. If someone had asked him a few months ago if he’s happy he would have said ‘yes’. Now he’s not so sure anymore. He has everything he and Jason joked about while going to law school, an apartment on the Upper Westside and a job that pays more than he could ever spend. Jason doesn’t have any of that, but he has a family, a wife and three rug rats. 

All of a sudden, Jensen thinks Jason got the better end of the deal. 

It takes him about an hour to get to Sophia’s youth center and when he pushes open the door he’s chilled to the bone. Pleasant warmth and a happy buzz greet him. Sophia is sitting at one of the tables, helping a couple of girls work on their Thanksgiving decorations. She looks up and her eyes grow wide when she notices Jensen. 

“Oh my God,” she exclaims and throws herself into his arms. “What are you doing here?” she asks excitedly. “Are you okay? Are your parents okay?”

Jensen laughs. “I’m fine, Soph. I’m fine. I just missed you.”

She looks at him long and intently, but then she smiles. “I missed you, too. Come over and help with the Thanksgiving decorations.”

The afternoon at the center flies by and Jensen can’t remember ever having so much fun, at least not since he started working at Johansson, Morgan & Beaver. He helps the kids make window decorations and carve pumpkins. It feels good and when it’s dark, Jensen asks Sophia if she knows where Chris and Steve are playing tonight. She tells him the name of the club and he kisses her good bye, promising to drop by again soon. 

He takes the subway to Queens. The club is small and smoky and Jensen chuckles, because this is exactly the location Chris and Steve love to play in. He sees his friends at the bar and makes his way over. 

“You have a place for one more?” he asks, Chris and Steve jerking around. 

“For you?” Chris asks and grins. “Always. Welcome back, Jenny.”

They hug quickly and Jensen gets a beer from the bartender, before they make their way backstage. It’s amazing being back on stage. They used to do this every weekend when they were in college and it makes Jensen feel young and carefree again. They sing a few old songs and during the new ones Jensen doesn’t know, he just sits and listens to his friends. 

It’s the best night he’s had in years. 

~*~*~

Early in the morning the next day, Jensen grabs the files of the McAllister case and writes down everything important. Then he makes his way upstairs to Paul Johansson’s office. 

“You can’t let McAllister tear down the block.”

Johansson raises his eyebrows. “And why’s that?”

“Paul, people live there. They have homes there.”

Johansson nods contemplatively. “Well, I’m sure they can make homes elsewhere. Go back to work, Jensen. If you really wanna make senior partner by forty, you need to concentrate on the big fish.”

Jensen looks at his boss and shakes his head, smiling slightly. “Why am I not surprised that you’re saying this, Paul? Well, you know what? I quit. Have a good life Paul.”

He walks out of the office with his head held high and feeling like he’s just won a huge case. His personal effects all fit into one small box and Danneel stares at him with wide eyes. 

“I’ve quit, Danni. I’m sorry, but there are other things in life than sitting in this office.”

She grins at him. “What are you gonna do now?”

Jensen shrugs. “Open my own office, maybe.”

“Really?” She peaks up. “You need an assistant?”

“Danni…”

She stands up, puts the picture of her husband in her purse and yells, “I quit!”

They walk out of the office together and Jensen’s never felt so amazing in his life. The next couple of weeks are filled with finding an office and setting everything up that’s needed. Then Jensen starts working on his first case. 

~*~*~

“Do you know what phyllodesma ilicifolia is, Jared?”

Jared’s stares at him, as if Jensen’s gone insane. He’s standing in the hallway of Jared’s apartment building and it’s a week before Christmas. 

“No. Should I?”

“Well it’s a small lappet moth and it resides in apple trees. Oh and did I mention that it’s a threatened species.”

Jared gapes. “That’s… Jensen… you…”

Jensen laughs. “Close your mouth, Jay, before you catch something. I quit, couple of weeks after you did,” he explains. “I just opened my own office two weeks ago.”

“You quit?” Jensen nods. “But Jensen, you love your job.”

“No.” Jensen shakes his head. “I love being a lawyer, there’s a difference.” He pulls out a folder and hands it to Jared. “I filed some papers and have talked with a few of my contacts in the township. They agree that this is definitely worth investigating. Nobody wants to chop down a tree where a threatened species might live. We have to wait for a few months to find out though.”

“So, what?”

“Well, it doesn’t win the case, but it buys us a little more time,” Jensen says. 

Jared smiles disbelievingly. “I don’t get it. Why did you do this?”

“Because, like you said, ‘it’s a home’. I forgot for a while what that really means.”

Jared hooks his fingers into the pockets of Jensen’s coat and pulls him close. “You know, I think I love you.”

Jensen grins. “You think?”

Jared rolls his eyes. “Oh shut up.”

“Make me.”

And Jared does. The kiss feels pretty much like coming home to Jensen, even though it’s not a home he might have known before. 

~*~*~

It’s Christmas Eve and they’re standing in the courtyard of Jared’s childhood home. The residents have put up a beautiful, tall Christmas tree and Jensen learns that it is a tradition to meet and sing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. 

Everyone is wearing thick parkas, gloves, scarves and hats. Everyone except Jared. Jensen frowns at him. 

“It’s freezing, Jay.”

Jared pulls him into a soft kiss and whispers, “I’ve not needed gloves since you gave me yours ten years ago. I think you warmed me deep inside. You warmed my heart, Jen. Now, I only need you.” 

He links their fingers together and joins the others, who are singing ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. Jared is horribly off key, but Jensen can’t help but smile and wrap his arms around Jared’s chest, pulling him close. 

And all this because of one hot chocolate. 


End file.
